Shortly before the crucifixion of Christ, Pontius Pilate offers to release either Jesus Christ or Barabbas in keeping with the local custom. As the Bible story goes, Barabbas is the one the crowd chooses.
Set in Italian East Africa (Ethiopia) during WW2, the wartime comedy plays on the clash between Richardson (Niven), a typical product of the British officer corps (quiet, methodic, but often stubborn and unprepared to deal with the unexpected) and the flamboyant Blasi, who tries desperately to appear ruthless and efficient (just like the Italian Fascist Regime pretended for years to be) but is at heart just a 'poor devil' trying to box above his weight.
Yugoslav partisans grimly crop the hair of a village quintet of women believed to have consorted with the occupational Nazis. Four, for various reasons, have indeed - and their seducer is a lone, swaggering sergeant whom the partisans briskly emasculate. Escorted out of town by the sheepish Nazis, the forlorn ladies link up, patriotically and romantically, with a band of tough mountain guerrillas.
Loosely based on actual events during World War II, the film depicts real life German Captain Bernhard Rogge commanding the navy raider Atlantis, which from May 1940 to November 1941 sank 22 Allied merchant ships. The story alternates between scenes at the Admiralty and scenes at sea, particularly showing Captain Rogge's humanity and chivalrous conduct of his military engagements. Rogge was one of the few German flag rank officers who was not arrested by the Allies after the war, due to his conduct as a military officer. After eighteen months of successful raids, Atlantis was sunk on 22 November 1941 by the British cruiser Devonshire.
Five people, all united by the fact of being on a train to Monte Carlo, will find themselves being involved in the murder of an elderly millionaire of Dutch origin, a regular guest of mondanissima lakeside village.
Oreste Jacovacci from Rome and Giovanni Busacca from Milan meet each other during the call to arms at the start of World War I. Although completely different in character, they are united in their lack of idealism and their desire to avoid any danger and get out of the war unscathed. They and a varied group of civilians and fellow soldiers (including the prostitute Costantina, played by Silvana Mangano) go through many ups and downs during their training, battles and rare moments of leave. They are considered "inefficient" due to their limited military valour and so are made message-runners to the staff, a very dangerous job. Having succeeded in their mission, a sudden change in which side hold which trench leaves them in enemy territory, where they are captured by the Austrians wearing Austrian uniforms they had found in a barn.
Convaincue d'être la fille perdue du prince Guidobaldi, Nanda Diotallevi que l'on surnomme Fortunella, mène une vie mouvementée aux côtés de Peppino. Ce dernier se sert d'elle pour échapper à la justice et à la prison jusqu'à ce que Fortunella ne décide de le quitter à la suite d'une infidélité. Son but, désormais, est de tout faire pour mettre la lumière sur ses origines.
A happy, laughing Cabiria (Giulietta Masina) is standing on a river bank with her current boyfriend and live-in lover, Giorgio (Franco Fabrizi). Suddenly he pushes her into the river and steals her purse which is full of money. She cannot swim and nearly drowns, but is rescued by a group of young boys and revived at the last possible moment by helpful ordinary people who live a little further down the river. In spite of just saving her life, she treats them with disdain and starts looking for Giorgio.
Twenty-year-old Joseph (Perkins) and his sixteen-year-old sister Suzanne (Mangano) live in the merciless conditions of an intemperate foreign land with their widowed mother (Van Fleet). Their mother attempts to exert a hold on her children by involving them in the family's run-down rice plantation. However the siblings seek liberation, and look for this in their romantic lives. Suzanne becomes involved with Michael (Conte) and Joseph finds a love interest in Claude (Valli).
The film stars Silvana Mangano as Giovanna Masetti, a poor Venetian who is admired by the crafty croupier Mario Rossi (Vittorio Gassman) and the rich count Enrico Marisoni (Michael Rennie). Giovanna lives out a dream to become a dancer and moves to Rome. She returns six months later to the competing affections of Mario and Enrico, resulting in a choice between the two and the dramatic finale.
À Gènes, dans un monde de sous-prolétaires qui vivent dans les marges de la loi, Manfredi organise des trafics de femmes. Parmi celles-ci, Alda cherche à se soustraire à ce circuit grâce à Carlo. Alors Manfredi implique Carlo dans un cambriolage avant de le dénoncer…